Scars
by Topaz88
Summary: Scars come in many forms, and they can be on the inside and the outside... (Story takes place after "Revenge of the Shape Shifter") Loosely based on/inspired by: askthestans./post/125465300514/hey-ford-did-you-get-any-tattoos-on-the-other
1. Chapter 1

Stan drove his car up to the front of the Mystery Shack and turned the engine off. Almost immediately afterward he shot a glare at his passenger.

" _What_ do you think you're doing?"

Stanley Pines' twin brother Stanford stopped his hand in mid-reach for the door handle. "Er—getting out of the car and going into the house? "

"Not without help, you're not." Stanley insisted, immediately getting out of his side of the car.

Stanford sighed, laying his left arm across his chest and resting his right elbow on his arm, pinching the bridge of his nose. "Stanley, are you going to be like this all day? "

His brother opened the passenger's side door. "All week, all month, until I'm convinced your one hundred per cent—maybe for the rest of your life. "

Stanford sighed deeply, but he couldn't help but smile as he looked up at his brother.

 _You would do anything for me, wouldn't you, Stanley? You've already saved my life more than once, I don't know what else there is to do…_

As Stanford took Stan's offered hand and stood up from his seat, the older set of twins saw their great niece and nephew come racing down the front steps.

"Great Uncle Ford!"

"Grunkle Ford, you're home!"

Their niece Mabel almost immediately had her arms wrapped around Ford's leg. "Oh, Grunkle Ford, I'm so glad you're okay!"

"I'm fine, Mabel, thank you." Ford said, placing a hand on the back of her head.

"Grunkle Stan, can I help? " their nephew Dipper asked, his hands held out in front of him, but not sure what to do.

Stan shook his head. "Well, for one thing, _you_ can move, and Mabel, _you_ can let go of your Uncle's leg so he can walk. "

Ford chuckled. "Thank you, kids. It's good to be welcomed home. "

Stan placed an arm around Ford's waist and proceeded to help him toward the house. At first Ford was going to protest, realized it wouldn't do any good, and then when he tried to take a step with his left foot—

"Ghnnnnnng!"

Stanford gritted his teeth against the pain. Even though it was healing, the burn on the bottom of his foot still hurt.

"Stanford!"

"Great Uncle Ford! "

"What happened?"

"It—it's okay, kids." Ford assured Dipper and Mabel. "I—my foot just hurts, is all. I guess I will need your help, Stanley. "

Stan frowned. A few days ago, with the help of Dipper, Mabel, and his two employees, he had rescued his brother. A day and a half before that, Stanford had been kidnapped and held prisoner by a monster he had once studied, known as the shape shifter. While he was in the hospital, Stan had insisted that his brother tell him everything that had happened while he was in captivity (mainly because he kept waking up with nightmares). Ford had confided in him that the creature, who had taken human form, had found different ways to torture him, one of which had been subjecting him to electric shock. The electrical burn on the bottom of Ford's left foot was still healing, but it hadn't all the way.


	2. Chapter 2

Just then a young man with an almost pear-shaped body appeared at the door. "Hey, welcome home, Mister Pines—both—Mister Pines-es. "

"Soos!" Stan called, "Come down here, please!"

Jesus "Soos" Ramirez hurried down the steps and stopped directly behind Dipper and Mabel. Standing almost at attention, he said, "Yes, sir, what can I do?"

"Come over here and get on my brother's other side." Stan said. To his brother he added, "Keep that foot off of the ground. "

Soos went over and put Ford's left arm over his shoulder. Stan put Ford's right arm over his.

"Er—Stanley how can I—"

"Okay, Ford, if you have to use your foot, don't step on the part that hurts. "Let us be your legs. "

Reluctantly Ford took a step with his right foot, then tried only stepping with his left heel.

 _It's strange having help when there were so many years that I didn't have any…_ Stanford thought as he allowed Stan and Soos to help him inside.

It was awkward, but after several minutes they got him inside.

They went through to gift shop, and back into the house. Once in the living room, Stan and Soos guided Ford to the couch.

"Jeez, what did you kids do, put every pillow in the house on the couch? "Stan said, trying to hide a grin.

"Well, not _every_ pillow, Grunkle Stan. We didn't get any out of your room. "Mabel answered him matter-of-factly.

Stan chuckled, and Ford grinned.

Soos and Stan maneuvered Ford over to the couch, though having to move some of the pillows so that he could sit down.

"Here." Mabel said, gently tugging each of her uncle's boots off. "That should be better. "

Dipper immediately took note of the bandages on his great uncle's left foot. When they'd rescued him from the shape shifter, the monster was whipping Ford's chest with a bicycle chain. He hated to think what else it had done to him.

Stan looked over at the staircase. "I don't think you'll be going up to your room tonight, Sixer."

Ford gazed at the staircase, too—and his foot hurt just thinking about climbing it. He sighed. "No, I suppose I'll stay down here tonight. "

Dipper's eyes brightened. "Can we get your blankets and bring them down here, Great Uncle Ford? "

Ford nodded. "Sure, Dipper, just don't—"

Dipper waved a hand. "Yeah, I know, don't touch anything. I won't. "

He raced up the stairs with Mabel behind him. Soos headed for the kitchen. "My abuelita sent over some food so I could make dinner for you guys. I'll get it together and heat it up. "

"Thanks, Soos."

Stan waited watched him go, and then turned to his brother. "Are you sure you're all right, Stanford?"

Beside him, Ford sighed. "Well, Stan, I still hurt in a lot of places, and like you saw at the hospital, I have nightmares, but—"

He turned to Stan and gave him the best smile he could. "I'm home, and I'm with you and the kids again. I honestly wondered…"

Ford cast his gaze downward, and Stan slowly reached out and touched his brother's arm. "Wondered what? "

Ford shut his eyes tightly and grimaced. Stan recognized the look—it was one Ford would have on his face often when they were children and he was trying not to cry.

"I wondered if—if I would ever see you again. "Ford said his voice cracking.

"Aw, Sixer…" Stan placed his arms around his brother and squeezed. He had never been much for shows of affection, but having his brother with him again was bringing it out.


	3. Chapter 3

Stan placed a hand on his Ford's back as his brother let out a sob. "It's okay, Stanford. You're safe, now—you're home."

In the back of Stan's mind, what the doctor had said about the discovery of the scars on Ford's back started rearing its head again. Before Stan could think of asking about them:

"Great Uncle Ford!"

"Are you okay?"

Stan looked around his brother's head to see Dipper and Mabel at the bottom of the stairs, having dropped the blankets they'd retrieved from Ford's room. Both of them rushed over.

Ford gave his brother a last squeeze and let go of him, wiping his eyes. "I-I'll be fine, kids. I'm just happy to be home. "

Dipper looked into his great-uncle's eyes as he attempted to smile reassuringly through his tears, but the boy had the sneaking suspicion that that wasn't all of it.

Mabel walked over, stood in front of Ford, placed her hands on his face and looked him in the eye. "Great Uncle Ford, I know some bad things happened out there in the woods, but I want you to know that me and Dipper are here for you, too, not just Grunkle Stan. "

Stan and Dipper looked at each other almost in shock. Mabel was evidently more perceptive than either of them thought.

Ford smiled, then wrapped his arms around his great-niece. Mabel in turn put hers around Ford's neck. "Mabel, thank you so much. I couldn't have asked for a better niece and nephew. "

"Hey, everyone. I made my abuelita's enchiladas. "Soos announced from the kitchen. "Uh, Mister Pines, sorry, but you're out of cheese. "

Stan rolled his eyes at the thought of another shopping trip that week, but then he saw the appreciative look on his brother's face. "Thanks, Soos. Kids, go find the T.V. trays, would ya? We're eating in here tonight. "

Dipper and Mabel went to fetch the trays from beside the refrigerator. Dipper noted the sad look on Mabel's face as he pulled one of the T.V. trays out. "What's wrong? "

His sister looked over her shoulder toward their great-uncles. "This is so not fair. Grunkle Stan brings Great Uncle Ford home, and then that awful shape shifter took him away and hurt him, and—"

Dipper placed a hand on his sister's shoulder. He remembered Mabel keeping her head down and not able to look at their Grunkle Stan fighting the shape shifter when they went to rescue their Great Uncle Ford from being its captive. "Mabel, I haven't gotten the chance to tell you this, but you did great out there. "

Mabel looked like she was going to cry. "But Dipper, I was so scared!"

Dipper tried to give her an assuring look. "Mabel, I was scared, too. Somebody said that being brave is not _not_ being scared, but doing things you need to do even though you _are_ scared—or something like that. "

Mabel tilted her head. "I have no idea what you just said, Dip—but whatever it was, it kinda made me feel better. Thanks. "


	4. Chapter 4

The younger set of twins didn't exactly try to keep their conversation quiet. As Stan set up one of the tables by his brother, the two looked at each other.

"I'm sorry, Stan." Ford said in a low tone.

"What're you sorry, for, Sixer? None of this was your fault. I was so mad I wasn't thinking straight, and I never should have let them come with me. "

"But you did, Grunkle Stan, and we'll be the stronger for it. "Dipper said as he came up behind him with one of the T.V. trays.

Stan smacked his hand over his face, not having heard his great-nephew walk up behind him at all. Ford sighed.

"I still wish you kids hadn't had to have seen any of that. "he said.

Mabel sat on the couch next to him. "But we did, Grunkle Ford. I didn't want to see any of it –" she looked sadly at the front of her great-uncle's sweater, under which she knew were wounds from his being hit with a bicycle chain—"—but I did. I'm just glad you're home and you're safe. "

Ford placed and arm around Mabel's shoulders and gave her a squeeze. "Thank you, Mabel. "

Stan sighed. "Okay, can we eat, already? I just want to forget any of this ever happened. "

"Hear, hear. "his brother said, nodding.

The evening was spent talking about anything the five of them could think of—anything but the events of the past few days.

Around nine-thirty that night, Stan looked up to see Mabel asleep on Ford's shoulder.

"You kids need to get to bed. "

"But Grunkle Stan—" Dipper started to protest, but wound up yawning instead.

"No, I think we all need to get some rest. "Stan said, noting his brother's half-closed eyes. "Go on, Dipper, I'll bring your sister. "

Stan got up and lifted Mabel off of the couch. When he bent over to do so he whispered in his brother's ear: "You going to be all right, Stanford? "

His brother nodded and gave him a tired smile.

"Okay, you two, let's go. "

Dipper came over and gave Ford a hug good night, then followed Grunkle Stan up the stairs. Ford watched them go.

 _Stan, you don't know how grateful I am for you right now._

Up in the attic, Stan changed Mabel into her nightgown and tucked her in. Dipper got into his pajamas and into bed. "Grunkle Stan? "

Stan turned to him. "Yeah, Dipper? "

"Great Uncle Ford is going to be okay, right? "

Stan nodded. "He may have scars, but the doctor said he'll heal."

"No—I mean—well, do you think he'll be okay on the inside? "

Stan sighed. He hoped that his brother would. "Dipper, I imagine your Great Uncle Ford saw a lot of bad stuff over in that other dimension. He seems okay from that—and we'll be here to help him get through this. "

"You're right, Grunkle Stan—"—yawn—"-we will. "

Stan placed a hand on Dipper's head a moment, then sighed and went back downstairs.

Upon returning to the TV room, Stan saw that Ford's chin was on his chest.

"Aw, Stanford…"

Stan picked up the blankets that Dipper and Mabel had left on the floor, then came over and, after moving a couple of the TV trays, removed some of the pillows from the couch. Picking up his brother's feet, he laid him down on the couch and put the blankets over him.

As he covered his brother with the blankets, thoughts came to Stan's mind again about what the doctor had said.

" _Well, there are several old scars on his back—some of them are healed on top of each other_. "

 _You could peek under Ford's sweater and see what the doctor was talking about, Stan. If you're careful, Ford won't know._

Stan yawned. After turning off the light, he went to sit in the recliner. "No." he answered the voice in his head aloud. "I'm tired and I don't need any more drama right now. "


	5. Chapter 5

Stan took off his suit jacket and tossed it over the back of the recliner. Once he sat down he loosened his tie and laid the recliner back, pushed off his shoes and let them drop to the floor.

For a moment, he stared into the darkness and listened to his brother's breathing.

 _It's over. Ford's safe, and tomorrow's a new day. Things can start getting back to normal._

Upstairs, Dipper was lying in bed staring into the darkness. So many things had happened over the last two weeks—they thought Grunkle Stan was some kind of criminal—found out he'd been keeping secrets from them—they never would have guessed that secret was an interdimensional portal in the basement built by the twin brother they didn't know he had—and before they were completely used to having a second great uncle, he was taken captive by a monster and they'd had to go and rescue him…

 _I wonder what even happened to Great Uncle Ford on the other side of that portal. Where was he? Were there friendly beings over there? Was it hard?_

Just then he heard a noise from the other side of the room. Turning his head, he could barely see his sister lying in the bed on the other side of the nightstand. The noise came again.

A sob.

Dipper sat up and turned on the light. "Mabel? "

His sister's body curled into a tighter ball under her blankets. Dipper got out of bed and went to sit on the edge of his sisters'.

"Mabel, what's wrong? "

There was a ragged breath from under the blanket, and then Mabel pushed the blanket down and looked at her brother out of the corner of her eye. Despite the obvious tears on her face, she said, "It was nothing, just a bad dream, Dip. I'm sorry I woke you up. "

Dipper shook his head. "You didn't wake me up—I was awake already. What were you dreaming about? "

Mabel rolled over and sat up. This close to his sister—or maybe it was just the light—Dipper couldn't help but notice that her eyes were the same Crayola crayon brown as their Grunkle Stan's. Why had he never noticed that before?

"I—I dreamt that we were all in that shack—and the shape shifter was telling Grunkle Stan that he would never see Grunkle Ford again, and—a hole opened in the wall and sucked Great Uncle Ford in, and Grunkle Stan dove in after him, and then the hole closed and the shape shifter turned into that big worm monster thing and started to come towards us, and—"

Her eyes shut tight and she tried to hold back another sob, but was largely unsuccessful and spat on Dipper a bit.

Dipper wiped his face with the back of his hand and gave Mabel a hug, letting her cry on his shoulder. "I know, Mabel—it was scary, it's okay to admit it. But everything's okay, now—the shape shifter is gone, Great Uncle Ford is home, Grunkle Stan's okay. Even though Great Uncle Ford is still hurt, we're all going to help him get better—and—Grunkle Stan is probably going to hire six or seven body guards for him, or take karate or something. "

Mabel gave her brother a hard squeeze, then let go. "Thanks, Dip." She said, wiping her eyes on the sleeve of her nightgown. "You're a great bro, you know that? "

Dipper grinned. "Well, you're not such a bad sis."

Mabel yawned. "Well, if we're going to help take care of Grunkle Ford tomorrow, I guess we'd better get some sleep, huh? "

"Yeah. You sure you're okay? "

Mabel yawned again, and then nodded. "Thanks, Dipper. "

Dipper stayed seated on the edge of Mabel's bed until she lay down and closed her eyes. Afterward he got up and back to his own bed. He listened to the silence a moment, and then shut off the light.


	6. Chapter 6

Downstairs, Stan was having trouble sleeping. He'd slept in that easy chair several times before; that wasn't it. It was just that every time he heard the slightest noise from the figure on the couch, his eyes flew open.

"Darn it, Sixer," Stan grumbled, pushing the front of the recliner down and feeling around for the stool that he'd seen at the side of the recliner. Finding it with his hand, he stood up, brought the stool over beside the couch, and sat down on it. After listening to his brother's breathing a bit more, he placed a hand on Stanford's head.

"Why do you always do this to me, Poindexter?" Stan said aloud. "Seems I've been protecting you all your life—probably part of the reason why I got so upset when you were supposed to go off to that fancy college—not only would it break up our team, but who would have protected you? "

He looked down at the couch. He could see the dark silhouette of his brother's head on the pillows. To himself he thought: _But, you obviously survived in that other dimension. Is that where you got the scars the doctor was talking about? What_ happened _to you over there?_

Under his hand, Stanford's head moved. Stan heard his brother make a whimpering noise, then he started to mumble.

"No—get away from me—I swear, I'll shoot—no—"

Stan turned on the lamp by the couch and placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. "Stanford? "

His brother had started breathing hard, and his face was screwed up as if in pain. "No!" he said in a louder voice. "Get away from me!"

Stan patted his brother's face. "Stanford, wake _up_!"

Suddenly Ford's right hand balled into a fist and punched. Stan held up his hand just in time to keep it from hitting him in the face. Because his body had rolled over in order to throw the punch, Ford fell off the couch.

Stan shoved the stool aside and got on his knees next to his brother. "Stanford? "

From the floor his brother murmured, "S-Stanley? "

"It's me, Sixer. I think you were having a nightmare. "Stan answered, placing a hand on his brother's shoulder. He could feel Ford's body shaking.

After a moment Ford sat up. "It was—just a nightmare…"

Stan helped Ford get back on the couch, and sat next to him.

"It's okay, Sixer. That thing is never going to hurt you again. "

Looking into Ford's eyes, Stan couldn't help but feel as if his brother were somewhere else—at least in his mind—far, far away. "No…" Ford said, "It wasn't—it wasn't about the Shape Shifter. "

After Mabel had long since fallen asleep, Dipper lay staring into the darkness. Why was he having so much trouble sleeping?

 _Maybe it's just adrenaline_ , he thought. _But, I should be so tired…_

"No! Get away from me!"

Dipper sat up. Great Uncle Ford?

Dipper climbed out of bed and headed down the hall. He heard Grunkle Stan say, "Stanford, wake _up_!"

The boy stopped before he reached the stair landing. His great uncle must have been having a nightmare. Dipper knew he should have gone back to his room, but instead he leaned against the wall, slid down so that he was seated on the floor, and listened.

There was a _thud_.

"Stanford? "

"S-Stanley? "

"It's me, Sixer. I think you were having a nightmare. "

"It was—just a nightmare…"

After a moment he heard his Grunkle Stan say,

"It's okay, Sixer. That thing is never going to hurt you again. "

There was a pause, and then Great Uncle Ford said in a voice he could barely hear:

"No… it wasn't—it wasn't about the Shape Shifter. "


	7. Chapter 7

Below, unaware that they were being listened to, Stan frowned. "Not the Shape Shifter? You mean your nightmare? "

Ford drew a deep breath, and then exhaled. "Stanley—when I—when I got sucked through the portal—I—"

Stan frowned. "Where did you go, Sixer? "

Beside him, his brother stared at the floor a moment, and then spoke.

"I—I landed in a dimension that seemed to be torn by war. There was devastation everywhere—and—and creatures that must have come out of someone's nightmare. Huge insects and—"–he shivered.

"One—one night I was attacked by a—a creature—the best I can describe it was—a mutated sabre toothed tiger of some sort. I—I grabbed a branch off of the ground and—"

Stan placed a hand on his brother's shoulder. He could see tears welling up in Ford's eyes again. "It's okay, Stanford. "

Ford shook his head. "No—I—I killed it. I shoved that branch right through the creature's chest. I—I don't know where the power came from, Stanley—I—I remember it scared me—"

Stan didn't say anything. He just squeezed his brother's shoulder.

"I – I learned to make other weapons that were fairly primitive, but—they worked." Stanford went on. At—at least, until I got to—what they called civilization. I was—captured—arrested—by some soldiers one day when I was out looking for food. They brought me to a prison of some sort and put me in a cell with no windows—I—I don't know how long I was in there. "

By the wall upstairs, Dipper covered his mouth with both hands. _How horrible! Poor Great Uncle Ford!_

"When I was brought out, I was taken to a place where they shaved my head, and then they took me to—some sort of prison camp. Everyone there was forced to do hard labor while in chains and if you didn't do what the overseers thought you should be doing—"

He exhaled raggedly and placed a hand on his back.

Beside him, Stan frowned. "Sixer, the doctor told me that when they examined you, they found a lot of old scars on your back—he said that some were even healed on top of each other. "

Ford looked at his brother with wide eyes and drew a sharp breath. "Oh, no…"

"Please, Sixer. Let me see them. "

Upstairs, Dipper peeked around the corner of the wall.

Ford shut his eyes tightly and bit his lower lip. Finally he said, "Stanley, I'm sorry, I didn't want you to worry—"

"It's okay, Stanford. Please—"

He saw Great Uncle Ford cover his face with his hands and nod, then turn to the side to that his back was facing Grunkle Stan. Slowly, Stan lifted Ford's sweater.

It was hard for Dipper not to scream. Grunkle Stan went white.

Ford's back was a mess of bubbled skin and scar tissue. There appeared to be claw marks on his back, some of which reached around his side. Other red marks could have been from some kind of whip, and still other odd marks could have been chemical burns. There were deep grooves in some places on his sides, as though something had squeezed him so hard it had left a mark.

Downstairs, Stan was close enough to also see some healed-over holes, as if from bullet wounds—or maybe some creature's fangs.

Stan slowly put his brother's sweater down. "Aw, Stanford…"

Ford turned back around and looked his brother in the eye. "I—I'm sorry—I'm sorry I didn't tell you…"

Stan rolled his eyes. "A little late for _that_ , Sixer—worrying me, anyway. I'm so sorry all of that happened to you—but—"

"Well, that wasn't all of it. "

Up on the landing, Dipper gulped.

"Not—not all of it? " Stan said, wondering what was coming next.

"No—"Ford said, hesitating a moment before continuing. "One day—one day a group of prisoners was brought in—and one was—a young lady. "

Stan raised an eyebrow, but didn't say anything.


	8. Chapter 8

"One day when we were out clearing rocks, she whispered to me that she was planning on starting a rebellion, and did I want to join. I told her yes, and later that night we met with some other prisoners who were part of the rebellion. Days later, we revolted. "

"And you escaped? " Stan asked.

"Well, most of us did. " Ford explained, looking at the floor. "Some—didn't make it. Either they were recaptured or—shot. "

Up on the landing, Dipper sat with his eyes closed. _So much death! How on earth did Great Uncle Ford not come out worse off?_ Dipper shivered.

"When we were safely away," Ford continued, many just headed for their homes. The young lady and I had nowhere to go—so, we travelled the land together. "

Stan couldn't help but grin. "Eh—this 'young lady' have a name? "

He noted that his brother blushed. "Erm—Leila. Her name was Leila. "

Upstairs, Dipper bit his lip. _Was_? He hoped that Great Uncle Ford just meant that he and this Leila were no longer in the same place…

"We-travelled together for quite a long time. We would get food at abandoned farms, and it was easier finding shelter with two people looking. I don't—I don't know how long we travelled. "

Stan looked confused. "So—you're sayin' there was no way to measure time? "

Ford shook his head. "No. There were no clocks, no calendars—and there wasn't even a sun or a moon. The sky was just a red haze with dark—I guess what passed for clouds in that dimension. "

 _How strange that must have been—and how disconcerting._ Dipper thought.

Below him, his great uncle continued speaking.

"One day I—I started to feel a strange presence. I could swear someone was following us—and I became very wary. Leila asked me what was wrong, but I didn't want to alarm her so I said it was nothing.

"Quite some time passed, and I continued to feel the presence. I was glad when Leila and I found what had appeared to be the aftermath of a skirmish—we—took some weapons from the bodies. The gun I found was broken, but with the pieces from other guns and weapons I was able to rebuild it. "

Stan blinked. Like Dipper upstairs, part of him marveled at how much death his brother had seen, and yet here he was, appearing sane. No wonder he was having nightmares. The other part of Stan thought, _Yeah, figures_ you _would figure out how to take a bunch of other dimensional weapons and put them all together so they_ worked…

"So—that's—that big gun you carry around? "he asked aloud.

Ford grinned just slightly. "Yep—it hasn't failed me yet. "

His tiny grin disappeared as soon as he'd finished speaking.

"The—presence became very strong one day." He continued. "Leila and I had been out—gathering food, when—I suddenly couldn't find her. When I finally did, she—she was slumped over by a broken wall—it looked as though she was crying. When I came over to ask what was wrong—"

Ford started shaking, and Stan became alarmed. "What, Sixer? " he asked, getting off of the couch and on his knees in front of his brother. "It's okay, you can tell me."

He put his hands on his brother's shoulders, and could feel his shaking. A tear dropped down Ford's cheek, and then one dropped down the other.


	9. Chapter 9

"When I—when I asked what was wrong, she—"Ford choked back a sob—"She turned to me and her eyes—they had become yellow—I almost could swear she had grown fangs—it was as though—she was possessed by-something. "

Stan got the weird feeling that there was something his brother wasn't saying. Up on the stair landing, Dipper did, too. Stan didn't mention it—he thought pushing might make his brother more upset.

"Leila came at me—hissing—the next thing I knew her knees were on my chest and her hands were around my throat. She had gained amazing strength somehow- I didn't—I didn't know what to do—I—I had my gun in my hands, and I—"

Ford covered his face with his hands. Even so, Dipper could hear the sob he let out upstairs.

Stan felt guilty. He remembered Ford's telling him, "You don't know what I've been through!" the day he came through the portal. Stan, in turn, had retorted that Ford didn't know what _he'd_ been through, and started listing his past troubles. Now that he knew, Stan realized that nothing he'd "been through" compared.

"I'm so sorry, Sixer." He said. "I—what I've had to do in my life is nothing compared to that. "

For a moment, Ford kept his face covered. Finally he removed his hands. A single tear slid down his right cheek. "It was selfish, Stan. I should have tried—"

"Tried to what? Exorcise whatever took over your lady friend? Sounds like whatever did it was trying to kill you, Ford. What else could you have done? "

Ford sighed and wiped away his tears with the backs of his hands. "I don't know, Stanley, but—she was my friend. I should have tried to do something. "

Up on the landing, Dipper tried to stifle a yawn with his hand. _I don't think I would have known what to do in that situation, either, Great Uncle Ford—no, I_ know _I wouldn't have._

Stan sighed and stood up. His brother had told him enough, and he wasn't going to press him for more. "Look, Poindexter—thank you. Thank you for telling me. You don't have to say any more. "

Ford just nodded slightly, his eyes closed.

"Come on; time to get back to sleep." Stan directed, turning Ford's shoulders so that he was in the right position to be laid back down on the couch. He picked up his brother's feet and put them up on the couch, then covered him with the blankets once more.

Stan turned off the lamp and shook his head. "Poor Sixer. I never could have imagined. "

He started to go back to the easy chair, when he heard a noise.

 _Shhhhh-thump_.

"What the—"Stan muttered, looking up toward the stair landing.

Slowly he went over to the stairs and climbed up them. Once there, he turned on the light.

There by the wall, having fallen asleep and then fallen over, was his great-nephew.

"Aw, no, kid—were you sitting there listening to all that? "Stan mumbled.

He bent over (groaning a bit from the pain in his back) and picked the boy up. After trying to stretch a bit to relieve his back pain, Stan took Dipper back to his room.

By the moonlight that was coming in the window, he put Dipper back in bed and pulled the covers over him.

"I hope you don't have any nightmares now." Stan said with a sigh, and headed back downstairs.


End file.
